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I am a millenial, or am I?

I was born 1987 on a sunny late June afternoon. A lot of things changed and where determined by this one date: my mom and my dad named their first kid Simona, the horoscope believers named me Cancer and the theory lovers called me a millennial. There is so much to talk about the horoscopes or my name, I know J, but this time I want to talk about the last “name” – a millennial.

If you just put 5 minutes of your time, you can find dozens of different sources of information that talks about generations and the definitions of generations. Everybody born between 1980 and mid 90s is considered a millennial (with some sources even including those born in early 2000s). Naturally, being a part of a group, all the group members are generalized and described in various statements, I would even go and say bombarded with statements like ”the millennials are tech savvy”, ”millennials do not like to work hard”, ”millennials are more focused on themselves that anything else”, “snowflakes” and many others. I am sure, you have heard a handful of these in your life. I did too!

And you know what? Almost none of them applies to me. I am quick learner, but I am not a tech nerd. I do enjoy my free time with my family and friends, but I love my job too. And I do think I am quite a sensitive person, but not a snowflake. When growing up, I was constantly told how important it was to study and study hard in school, because that was the only way to get into university and get a good job afterwards. I was always reminded to study harder, be more curious, educate myself, that nobody, but myself is going to determine my success. And this exactly, what I did. When I started working, I was putting hours of hard work. I knew if I wanted to get somewhere, I needed to work hard and pay my dues. I did exactly the same when I moved to Sweden and was looking for a job.

Does not sound like a typical millennial, you say? Well, I believe that you are right J. And a bit wrong at the same time, actually. If I learned anything in the years I spent working in HR and recruitment, volunteering and meeting various people in different settings, it is how beautiful human personality is. It is so complicated, that it cannot be put in just one word or generation. I myself feel like a millennial sometimes trying to understand why we are still printing the boarding passes on paper in the 21st century, but I also feel like part of generation X sometimes, when I just want just to work (or maybe even be a bit of a workaholic J).

Because of my past experiences and the way, I was brought up, I, as a recruiter, don’t see somebody as a millennial or a generation X, I see the person and the his/her qualities and passions. I see how hard they work or how bad they want to reach a certain goal. I see more to a person, a bigger picture, if you may. And it has nothing to do with the date they were born or the generation they belong to. So, a millennial or a baby boomer, be proud! Be yourself, even if it does not comply with the generation stereotypes. Show your qualities and passions in life! There is nothing more fascinating than somebody being themselves in the interview, when I meet people at work.

If you want to discuss it further, don’t hesitate to contact me and spark a conversation on the phone 0733280604 or via email simona.bockute@pspartner.se.